Blackhawks not taking resilient Kings lightly

May 17, 2014|By Shannon Ryan | Tribune reporter

Before the Blackhawks faced the Wild in the last series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, coach Joel Quenneville talked to his players about not underestimating the opponent. No such concerns in this round.

“L.A. is going to be a tough opponent,” Quenneville said Saturday. “We talked about not underestimating Minnesota going into that series. There’s no way we could even think of underestimating this team.”

The Blackhawks and Kings meet for the second consecutive season in the Western Conference finals, starting in Game 1 Sunday at the United Center.

The Hawks disposed of the Kings in five games last season en route to a Stanley Cup championship.

In the regular season this year, the Blackhawks won all three meetings.

How do they explain that run of success against a team that has advanced to three straight conference finals?

“I think getting to the net,” Brandon Saad said. “Playoffs is a different story so we’ll see how this series goes, but for the most part – spreading them out, getting to the net and using our speed – when we keep coming at them and playing our team game, we have success.”

The Blackhawks advanced to this point by beating the Blues and Wilds and head into the Kings series off a long rest. The Kings needed two seven-game series against the Sharks and the Ducks to advance, providing just a one-day cushion between games and a cross-country flight mixed into the quick turnaround.

“At this point, momentum really carries you,” Kris Versteeg said. “But both teams will be ready regardless of the circumstances, so we’re excited about it.”

The Blackhawks said they’re prepared to face a resilient Kings team.

“They're playing really well right now, so we’ve got to be focused on what they've been doing the last couple of series and the way they're playing,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “Seems like they're never out of a game or out of a series. If we're down, we got to work like hell to get back. At the end of the day, we have to focus on our game and focus on what we've been doing, get better at that and be the team that we can be.” Quenneville had said injured Andrew Shaw would return to the ice this weekend for practice and the forward participated in Saturday’s team skate. He was hurt in Game 1 against the Wild with a lower-body injury.